Overview
- The order opens an ex parte review of U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397, which claims a system where a summoned sub-character fights under manual or automatic control.
- Director John A. Squires cited “substantial new questions of patentability” based on prior art identified as Konami’s 2002 Yabe patent and Nintendo’s 2020 Taura patent.
- Director-initiated reexaminations are uncommon, with roughly 175 such filings since 1981, according to patent attorney Andrew Velzen.
- Legal experts say the original examination appeared unusually cursory, and the USPTO will reassess the claims under novelty and obviousness standards.
- The U.S. review is separate from Nintendo’s Tokyo lawsuit against Pocketpair, as scrutiny has intensified following a recent Japanese patent-office rejection in the same patent family, and the outcome in the U.S. remains uncertain with potential for claim narrowing or cancellation.